The chamber had grown quieter. The alarms outside had faded into a dull, omnipresent hum. Elias, Aria, and the narcoleptic boy sat in cautious silence, each aware of the others' power — and the fragility that came with it.
A metallic clank echoed from the far side of the room. The door slid open — slower this time, less aggressive. Two more figures were ushered in by medical techs, their movements restrained but deliberate.
The first was a tall man, broad-shouldered, hands folded neatly in front of him. His eyes were sharp, calculating. As the med-techs released him, tiny sparks leapt from his fingers — blue arcs that hissed against the air, dissipating before anyone could react.
Elias's mind raced. Probability threads unfurled around the man. Every muscle, every nerve, every spark had a trajectory, and it all led to one conclusion: magnetic manipulation, electrical control — epilepsy transformed into weaponized precision.
The man's jaw tightened as he surveyed the room. "Name's Magnus," he said, voice calm, almost bored. "I'm… aware of what you all are. And I don't plan to die today."
Before Elias could answer, the second figure shifted in the shadows — a girl, thin and slight, with dark circles beneath her eyes. Her movements were subtle, almost ghostlike. She blinked slowly, her gaze distant yet sharp.
"She's… sleeping?" Aria muttered, voice barely above a whisper.
The girl's lips twitched. "I'm awake," she said. Her voice was soft but carried weight, almost dreamlike. "Nora. Narcolepsy… but it's more than sleep. I can… slip into places you wouldn't imagine."
The narcoleptic boy on the bunk trembled, nodding slightly. "She… she sees them too," he whispered. "The worlds… behind the world…"
Elias studied them carefully. Each new arrival brought a new set of probabilities, new equations, new danger. Yet in their eyes, he saw the same spark: survival. And maybe, cooperation.
Aria's hands flexed against her restraints. "So… what, we're a team now? Experiment squad?" Her tone was bitter, but her eyes flickered with curiosity.
Magnus shrugged. "We survive together or not at all. That's the equation. Simple."
Nora's gaze drifted past Elias, scanning the chamber. "And if we escape… what then? The world isn't ready for us. They won't understand. They'll hunt us."
Elias's mind unfolded the probabilities. Escape was unlikely. Survival depended on unity. Power without control was death. "Then we control ourselves first," he said. "We learn our limits… and then we learn theirs."
For the first time, the chamber felt… less like a prison. Less like a lab.
It felt like the beginning of something else.
Something dangerous. Something alive.
Something that could change everything.